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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN class=585290703-11092004>A recent post to the
ASAO list mentions the Tok Pisin word:</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2>"asidua" ("sex workers," in public
health parlance, but "street friends" and "sisters" in local parlance, from the
Portuguese for "plenty," originally<SPAN
class=585290703-11092004>)</SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><SPAN
class=585290703-11092004></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><SPAN class=585290703-11092004>The last
part does not sound right. For a start my Portuguese dictionary gives
assidua (feminine) as "assiduous, unremitting, sedulous" rather than "plenty".
Also it seems rather a bookish word to have found its way into pidgin, and I
have not heard of it turning up in pidgins elsewhere. As for an alternative
etymology, one would immediately think that "as" might play a role here. But I'm
sure others on this list will know more about this word's meaning, currency,
variant forms and possible etymology. </SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><SPAN
class=585290703-11092004></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><SPAN class=585290703-11092004>Ross
Clark</SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>